1. Field of Invention
This invention is related to presentation systems.
2. Description of Related Art
A plethora of available software packages are very capable of accomplishing tasks such as word processing, data management and presentation authoring. Specifically, presentation authoring software allows a user to input data which is then translated into xe2x80x9cslides.xe2x80x9d These slides are then electronically displayed to an audience using a presentation system during a presentation to facilitate and supplement a speaker""s presentation.
These presentation systems allow a pre-assembled presentation to be replayed. Specifically, these presentation systems allow a user to navigate, via a graphical user interface or keyboard control, to a previous slide, a next slide or another slide within the pre-assembled presentation, or cycle through unrelated slides, i.e., skip slides, to present a more relevant slide of the presentation.
While presentation authoring software and presentation systems work well for sequential presentations drawing their content from a common source, this technology fails to manipulate the presentations to create a uniform appearance when xe2x80x9cslidesxe2x80x9d are drawn from varying sources. Specifically, and especially in the case of a presentation using electronic media, numerous file types are available from which a presenter can compile information to generate xe2x80x9cslides.xe2x80x9d Furthermore, with each varying type of electronic media, there can be elements within the document that control the context, or appearance, of the document during presentation. For example, context elements may be background color or texture, orientation of the document, transition of the elements into and out of the presentation, font, font size, bullet style, or the like.
The varying formats of the presentation elements, coupled with the varying methods of identifying context within these elements has led presenters to generating piecemeal presentations that lack a uniform or consistent appearance.
This lack of uniformity detracts from the content of the presentation. Furthermore, the lack of uniformity makes it difficult, or impossible, for a presenter to manipulate contextual elements within a presentation unless the presenter has the appropriate software dedicated to that particular presentation element.
Accordingly, the systems and methods of this invention are more attuned to a presenter""s environment and allow a majority of the user""s attention, as well as the presenter""s attention, to be dedicated to tasks other than manipulation of the presentation system, especially when dealing with electronic media of varying formats. Selecting material for viewing and subsequent display to an audience should be as simple as retrieving a transparency, yet sufficiently flexible, functional and dynamic to deal with the dynamic content afforded by available and anticipated presentation and multimedia systems and formats.
This invention provides presentation control systems and methods that provide support for manipulating the context of elements within a presentation.
Specifically, the systems and methods of this invention receive a request to display a presentation element, e.g., a slide. The context of the slide is then manipulated in accordance with a style profile, or template, that can ensure a uniform display characteristic between presentation elements of varying formats.
Alternatively, an identification-carrying device is presented to a sensor of a presentation control system. The presentation control system associates an identification on the identification-carrying device with a presentation element. The presenter then has a variety of options for modifying the style, or context of the presentation element. The stylized presentation element is then presented for display.
This invention separately provides systems and methods for assisting users in presenting electronic media.
This invention separately provides systems and methods that allow a user to interact with a presentation system via a tangible identification-carrying device.
This invention separately provides systems and methods that allow users to create tangible identification-carrying devices containing style identifiers to be applied to the context of presentation elements.
The presentation systems and methods of this invention provide a user with a mechanism that provides ease of use and better support to the user during, for example, a presentation.
The presentation systems and methods of this invention can use physical objects, such as note cards, that contain, or are provided with, identifiers that represent styles to be applied to presentation elements. Mnemonics which clearly express the style, e.g., background color, are represented by an object affixed to the physical object. Along with these mnemonics, users can incorporate additional notes or graphics which may supplement the mnemonic, such as notes describing which background is better for a particular presentation element, which further aid in the display characteristics of the presentation.
The mnemonics incorporated on, attached to, or otherwise associated with the physical object are supplemented by a readable identification device which permits the presentation control systems and methods according to this invention to interpret a user""s actions associated with the physical object. For example, a presenter may distribute a set of cards on a table or podium which contain mnemonics representing the material for the presentation. The presenter may also distribute a set of cards that contain identifications of styles in which to present those elements. The presenter can then select a presentation element card, introduce it to the sensor device of the presentation system, and have the context of current or subsequent presentation elements modified to create a custom appearance by introducing a xe2x80x9cstyle cardxe2x80x9d to the sensor device.
The presentation control systems and methods according to this invention off-load activities from the presenter""s over-taxed cognitive system to under-utilized areas, such as the peripheral ranges of the presenter""s senses. The presentation control systems and methods according to this invention enable a user to manipulate the context of a presentation while very little attention is dedicated to manipulating a particular user interface. The presentation systems and methods according to this invention engage a wider range of human perception and enable a larger degree of low-intentional interaction than is found in current presentation systems, methods and interfaces. The presentation systems and methods of this invention recognize a direct physical action can be more efficient and reliable than interactions with a graphical user interface. For example, using the knob on a computer""s speaker to adjust its loudness is more easily accomplished than finding and adjusting a slider in a control window.
These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in or are apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.